1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a coffeemaker and, more particularly, to an improved brewing water spreader for dispersing heated brewing water into a ground coffee basket.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the manufacture of electric coffeemakers, it is conventional to provide a heated brewing water spreader having a plurality of apertures in order to uniformly distribute brewing water into coffee grounds. In some constructions, the spreader takes the form of a spreader plate that is attached to a ground coffee basket and in other constructions as shown in a prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,385,201, to Martin dated May 28, 1968, the water spreading function is achieved by a "discharge head 28 which is arranged to spray hot water over ground coffee 29" in a cup-shaped member 30.
In prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,793,933, to Weber dated Feb. 26, 1974, "a water spreader plate 257 . . . is a metal disc carrying perforations spread over the entire area of infusion."
A U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,530, to Simon dated Sept. 30, 1975, discloses a water spreader plate 41 that is inserted within a ground coffee basket 40. The spreader plate has "a plurality of arcuately shaped slots located in the surface of the spreader plate evenly spaced so as to provide uniform distribution of the brewing water into the coffee grounds". "In order to complete brewing in maximum time limit a bypass is provided comprising an overflow 50 in the center of the spreader plate having a conically shaped opening 51" for bypassing heated brewing water through a tube 55. In this construction, the bypassed brewing water cannot flow through the coffee grounds within the coffee basket 40.
In a prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,444,804, to Stozek dated May 20, 1969, there is disclosed a brewing water "pressure chamber" having an upper wall 25 provided with an inlet 27 and a lower foraminous wall 26.
This invention is concerned with such electric coffeemaker water spreader constructions, and particularly to an improved readily manufactured construction that disperses all of the heated brewing water to the coffee grounds without becoming pressurized, and which is also constructed so that it does not have to be removed from the coffeemaker when the coffee grounds basket is refilled with dry ground coffee.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of my invention to provide an improved brewing water spreader which may be located above a coffee grounds basket without being physically attached to the basket so that the basket may be refilled with ground coffee without moving the spreader.
It is a further object of my invention to provide a brewing water spreader which distributes all of the brewing water which may be delivered to it to the coffee even though the rate of flow of brewing water to the spreader may be increased or one or more of the apertures in the spreader may become clogged.
It is a further object of my invention to provide a brewing water spreader having relatively few parts which may be readily manufactured at relatively low cost and readily connected to each other and to a drip coffeemaker housing.